Machine for feeding receptacles



FlGl.

Jan. 24, 1939.

J. LQHEROLD MACHINE FOR FEEDING RECEPTACLES Filed Nov. 4, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 24, 1939-.

J. L. HEROLD MACHINE FOR FEEDING RECEPTACLES Filed Nov. 4, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l/v v5 NTo 2: J. 1,. .f/EEOLD ArroEn/EK Fatented Jan. 24, 1939 MACHINE FOR FEEDING RECEPTACLES James L. Herold, St.

Wehmiller Machinery Company,

a corporation of Missouri Application November 4, 1935, Serial No. 48,196

3 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for feeding receptacles. The machine herein described includes a number of feeding devices, and the cooperative action thereof, which may be employed in machines for cleansing, or otherwise operating upon various kinds of receptacles.

An object is to rapidly deliver the receptacles to the entrance of the machine, and to properly select and feed the predetermined rows of receptacles through the'entrance and onto paths inside of the entrance. In one form of the invention, this is accomplished through the medium of a constantly running carrier movable in a course adjacent to said entrance, and a simple transferring device which selects a predetermined number of receptacles from the constantly running carrier, and delivers them in an alined row to the course of a pushing device.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described and shown in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Fig. 1 is a view of the intake end of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail view, partly in vertical section, showing various feeding elements at the intake end of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the intake end portion of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatical fragmentary top view, partly in section, showing portions of the feeding elements and stop devices at the intake end.

A housing 14 is provided with stationary bars l5 extending longitudinally of the housing to provide frictional paths for rows of receptacles A which are pushed along said bars l5, as will be hereafter described.

Before describing the means for feeding successive rows of receptacles onto the paths formed by the stationary bars 15, I will refer to a traveling pushing device which feeds the rows of receptacles along said paths. To illustrate this feature, I have shown a pair of endless carriers 35, which may be in the form of sprocket chains located near the side walls of thehousing. Sprocket wheels M are located near the entrance of the housing to receive the endless sprocket chains.

Attention is now directed to a series of traveling pushers 54 carried by said endless sprocket Louis, Mo., assignor to Barry- St. Louis, Mo.,

chains 40. These pushers 54 may be in the form of simple straight bar to the endless chains 40.

s having their ends secured They travel over the stationary bars 15 to contact with the rows of receptacles and push them from positions near the 5 entrance of the housing to various positions within the housing.

Near the entrance of the housing I4 I have shown a means for forming an elongated row of receptacles, and a transferring device which selects a limited numb er of receptacles from the elongated row and delivers them to the frictional paths formed by the stationary bars l5. Attention is directed to a constantly running endless carrier 55 traveling around wheels 55' to feed the incoming receptacles to positions in front of the entrance of the housing I4. The receptacle on this narrow carrie r are approximately alined with each other, and they can be continuously delivered to the carrier so as to form an elongated row of any desired length.

The receptacles are of said constantly run yieldably seated on the top ning endless carrier 55, and

the leading end of the elongated row of receptacles is stopped by a stop member 56 near one side of the entrance to the housing. This stop member limits the movements of the incoming receptacles. It will be understood that the top of the endless carrier 55 is merely in frictional contact with the incoming receptacles, and that the carrier is free to travel independently of receptacles stopped by the stop member 56.

The constantly running carrier 55 may be driven at a relatively high speed to deliver an approximately straight continuous row of recep-= tacles to a position in front the housing Hi. All

follow the carrier 55, firm engagement with of the entrance of of the receptacles tend to so they are crowded into each other to provide a compact row. This provides for the desired rapid delivery of incoming receptacles in a long row which may extend from the stop member 56 to the intake end of the constantly running carrier 55.

To aid in selecting the predetermined rows of receptacles and isolating them from the next adjacent receptacle on the constantly running carrier 55, the stop member 56 (Fig. 4) is movably mounted near one si de of the entrance and it cooperates with a second stop member 51 near the opposite side of the entrance. Before describing details associated With these stop memhers, I will briefly point out the manner in which they cooperate with each other to isolate the predetermined number of receptacles for each row.

As shown by Figures 1 and 4, the line of incoming receptacles A seated on the constantly running carrier 55 is considerably longer than the entrance of the housing I4, the object being to maintain a reserve supply of receptacles on this rapidly moving carrier, as a very high capacity is usually desired to provide the adjacent rows of receptacles. The incoming line of receptacles is stopped by the movable stop member 56 (Fig. 4). while the traveling carrier continues in motion, which crowds the receptacles into engagement with each other. Thereupon, the stop member 51 engages a receptacle A next adjacent to one end of the predetermined row, so as to restrain said receptacle and prevent it from following the selected row. The opposite end of this selected row engages the movable stop member 56 (Fig. 4), and said movable stop member 56 is then released, as will be hereafter described, and permitted to move a slight distance in response to pressure of the selected row which moves a corresponding distance. This action provides a space at 58 (Fig. 4) between the selected row and the next adjacent receptacle, the latter being restrained by the stop member 51.

The selected row is thus separated from the other receptacles on the constantly running carrier 55.

Fig. 4 shows a portion of a transferring device including a pusher 59 movable into and out of the entrance, as will be hereafter described, to push the selected row of receptacles from the carrier 55 and onto the stationary bars I5. The selected row of receptacles is thus fed into the course of the traveling pushers 54 carried by the endless chains 40.

It will be noted that the transferring pusher 59 (Fig. 4) may be in the form of a simple bar having a straight face providing alined contacts for the selected row of receptacles, so as to insure proper alinement in the row delivered to the traveling pushers. When this row is leaving the constantly running carrier 55 it tends to follow said carrier, but such movement is prevented by a straight abutment face 60 on the stop member 56. One end of the row of cans slides along the friction surface formed by said abutment face 60.

Since the transferring pusher 59 moves back and forth over the constantly running carrier 55, the stop member 51 (Fig. l) remains in its operative position to restrain the next group of receptacles until said pusher 59 completes the transfer of the selected row and returns to a position entirely beyond the course of the cans. The stop member 51 is then released, as hereafter described, and the limiting stop member 56 is moved to a positionv to the right of that shown in Fig. 4. This permits onward movement of the incoming cans until they are stopped by the limiting stop member 56.

This stop member 56 (Fig. l) may be in the form of an arm pivoted at El and having its opposite end confined in a stationary channelshaped stop member 62. This stop member 55 is provided with a cam face (Fig. 4) leading to a straight face 64. A roller 65 is movable along these faces to shift the stop member 56 to a position to the right of that shown in Fig. 4. The roller 65 is carried by the lower end of an arm 66 loosely supported on a shaft 61. This arm 66 is yieldingly moved in one direction through the medium of a spring 66, and such movement is limited by a stop screw 69 carried by said arm 66 and adapted to engage a stationary stop member. To provide for movement in the opposite direction, said loosely supported arm 66 is provided with a finger 10 in the path of a lug 1I carried by an arm 12 which is fixed to the shaft 61.

The stop member 51 appears at the lower end of an arm 13 loosely supported on the shaft 61. A spring 14 connected to the arm 13 (Fig. 1) tends to move the stop member 51 toward the path of the receptacles on the endless carrier 55. The spring 14 may be similar to the spring 68. When said arm 13 is free, the spring 14 yieldingly forces the stop member 51 against one of the receptacles A, so as to clamp said receptacle between said stop member 51 and a stationary wall 15 at one side of the carrier 55, as shown in Fig. 4.

The means for releasing the stop member 51 comprises a finger 16 carried by the loosely mounted arm 13 so as to lie in the path of a lug 11 on an arm 18, said arm 18 being fixed to the shaft 61.

The pushing device which transfers the selected rows of receptacles from the constantly running carrier 55, includes the arms 12 and 18 fixed to the shaft 61, and the pusher rod 59 secured to the lower ends of these arms. In response to oscillatory movements of the shaft 61 and the arms 12 and 18 fixed thereto, the pusher rod 59 will move back and forth to feed the rows of cans into the entrance of the housing I 4, and the lugs H and 11 on said fixed arms will 00- operate with the fingers 10 and 16 to control the movements of the stop members 56 and 51 at the lower ends of the loose arms 66 and 13. The rows of cans are thus selected from the constantly running carrier 55 and transferred to the traveling pushing device inside of the housing.

The means for oscillating said shaft 61 comprises an arm 19 fixed to one end of this shaft and an operating rod to move said arm in one direction. This rod may be actuated in one direction from any suitable source of power. Movement in the opposite direction is derived from a spring (Fig. 3) connecting the rod 80 to a stationary member 86. During the feeding stroke of the pushing device at the entrance, the spring 85 is effective to yieldingly feed the receptacles, thereby preventing damage or breakage that might otherwise occur when the course of the receptacles is accidentally obstructed.

It will now be understood that the several pushing devices provide a simple means for quickly delivering the numerous receptacles in alined rows which travel in predetermined paths.

The constantly running carrier 55 at the intake end of the machine may be driven at a relatively high speed through the medium of a suitable power shaft I05. This shaft I05 is provided with a bevel gear wheel I06 (Fig. 2) meshing with a bevel gear I01 on the shaft I08 of one of the wheels 55 which engages and drives the endless carrier 55.

The machine herein described eliminates the expensive and cumbersome buckets, or the like, ordinarily employed to carry rows of receptacles from one station to another, and it has a considerably larger capacity for the rows. The receptacles in each incoming row are crowded into engagement with each other, instead of being separated by details of the ordinary carriers, and the simple pushing devices preserve the desired alinement of the adjacent receptacles, without requiring manual or mechanical separation of the receptacles in any given row.

I claim:

1. A machine having an entrance for rows of receptacles, a movable stop near one side of said entrance to engage the leading end of a row of receptacles, a constantly running endless carrier movable below said stop to carry a continuous line of receptacles toward said stop, said endless carrier having a friction surface on which the receptacles are seated to permit movement of the carrier independently of the receptacles, a second stop located near the side of the entrance opposite to the location of the first mentioned stop, so as to provide a predetermined row of receptacles at said entrance, said second stop being movable toward and away from the path of the receptacles on said constantly running carrier to engage and stop the receptacle next adjacent to the end of the predetermined row, a releasing device cooperating with the first mentioned stop topermit separation of said predetermined row from the receptacles stopped by said second stop, and a transferring device to feed the selected row of receptacles into the machine, said transferring device including an alining member located above said carrier and having a contact face in an approximately straight line to engage the selected row of receptacles, and operating means whereby said alining member is shifted back and forth above said constantly running carrier.

2. A machine having an entrance for rows of receptacles, a movable stop near one side of said entrance to engage the leading end of a row of receptacles, a carrier movable below said stop to carry a continuous line of receptacles toward said stop, said carrier having a friction surface on which the receptacles are seated to permit movement of the carrier independently of the receptacles, a second stop located near the side of the entrance opposite tothe location of the first mentioned stop, so as to provide a predetermined row of receptacles at said entrance, said second stop comprising a clamping member movable toward and away from the path of the receptacles on said constantly running conveyor to engage and stop the receptacle next adjacent to the end of the predetermined row, a releasing device cooperating with the first mentioned stop to permit separation of said predetermined row from the receptacles stopped by said second stop, and a transferring device to feed the selected row of receptacles into the machine, said transferring device including a pusher pivotally mounted above said carrier and having a contact face in an approximately straight line to engage the selected row of receptacles, and operating means including a spring tending to move said pusher into said entrance, a spring tending to move said second stop to its operative position, and poweractuated devices opposing said springs to withdraw said pusher and release said second stop.

3. A machine having an entrance for rows of receptacles, a movable stop near one side of said entrance to engage the leading end of a row of receptacles, a constantly running endless carrier movable below said stop tocarry a continuous line of receptacles toward said stop, said endless carrier having a friction surface on which the receptacles are seated to permit movement of the carrier independently of the receptacles, a second stop located near the side of the entrance opposite to the location of the first mentioned stop, so as to provide a predetermined row of receptacles at said entrance, said second stop being movable toward and away from the path of the receptacles on said constantly running carrier to engage and stop the receptacle next adjacent to the end of the predetermined row, a releasing device cooperating with the first mentioned stop to permit separation of said predetermined row from the receptacles stopped by said second stop, and a transferring device movable across said entrance to feed the selected row of receptacles into the machine,

JAMES L. HEROLD. 

